Community-Engaged Research with Marginalized Populations

This text is a concise, accessible, and applied how-to guide for people interested in conducting community-engaged research. The authors define specific community-engaged research approaches, and then present a variety of strategies, resources, and tips throughout the book in the context of social justice and ethics. Written by authors who teach research methods and who conduct community-engaged research, the book benefits from a range of case studies and examples from areas as diverse as mental health, criminal-legal research, and urban planning. A short companion guide posted on the Resources tab above is designed for research teams to use collaboratively to build capacity in carrying out their research within communities.

Kelli E. Canada, PhD, LCSW, is an Associate Professor at the University of Missouri, School of Social Work and the Marie M. and Harry L. Smith Endowed Professor. She received her PhD from the University of Chicago and worked more than 25 years in social work in direct services and administration. Dr. Canada’s research focuses on interventions for people with mental illnesses who become involved in the criminal-legal system including community interventions, alternative sentencing, and programming within institutions using mixed methods and community-engaged approaches. She also examines the policies and practices impacting recidivism and quality of life of people formerly incarcerated. Dr. Canada is an alumnus of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Interdisciplinary Research Leader program and has active research projects funded through the National Institute of Mental Health, Arnold Ventures, and the Health Resources and Services Administration. She is an editor of the book Community-engaged research for resilience and health, Vol. 4. She currently serves on the board for the Society of Social Work and Research and is the co-Director of the Integrative Behavioral Health Clinic in Columbia, MO.

Ashley Givens, PhD, LCSW, is a professor of social work at the University of Missouri. Her work centers around criminal legal involvement and its intersection with mental health and traumatic experiences. Dr. Givens also studies families, parent-child relationships, and social support. Dr. Givens has conducted research with individuals and staff associated with community supervision (i.e., probation and parole) as well as correctional institutions. Her work aims to provide meaningful interventions to reduce the amount of mental health needs, trauma symptoms, and social separation for individuals who interact with the criminal legal system. She teaches research methods, community and organizational health, social sciences measure development, and policy.

Janet Garcia-Hallett, PhD, is an Associate Professor of Criminal Justice in the University of New Haven. Her research is focused on social justice issues for marginalized populations – particularly, the impact of incarceration on communities of color and the obstacles women face before, during, and after incarceration. Her award-winning book, Invisible Mothers: Unseen Yet Hypervisible after Incarceration, explores how mothers of color navigate motherhood and life post-incarceration at the intersection of gender, motherhood, racial-ethnic background, and criminal record. It has received numerous recognitions, including the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences (ACJS) 2024 Outstanding Book Award and the American Sociological Association (ASA) Section on Crime, Law, and Deviance 2023 Ida B. Wells-Barnett Distinguished Book Award. In collaboration with the authors of the current handbook, Dr. Garcia-Hallett has partaken in multi-year community-engaged research projects to improve prison conditions for those working and living in carceral spaces, and to promote the overall well-being of prison staff and residents.

Beth M. Huebner, PhD, is the Director of the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice and Watts Endowed Professor of Public Safety at Arizona State University. Her principal research interests include punishment, the collateral consequences of contact with the criminal legal system, and public policy. She has spent most of her career partnering with local agencies and organizations on community-led reforms. Her research has been funded by the MacArthur Foundation, the National Institute of Justice, Pew Charitable Trusts, and Arnold Ventures, among others.  She has served on many journal boards and has held leadership positions for Criminal Justice and Behavior and the Oxford Bibliographies in Criminology. She has served as the Vice President and Executive Counselor of the American Society of Criminology and the President of the Association of Doctoral Programs in Criminology and Criminal Justice.